System and method for especially graphically monitoring and/or remote controlling stationary and/or mobile devices

ABSTRACT

System and method for, in particular graphical, monitoring and/or remote control of stationary and/or mobile apparatuses 
     The invention relates to a system and a method for, in particular graphical, monitoring and/or remote control of stationary and/or mobile apparatuses (F1 . . . Fn), in particular of vehicles, truck semitrailers, construction-industry machines, agricultural vehicles, demountable truck body systems, and/or containers, by means of a signaling apparatus (MC) from a control center ( 15 ), with the mobile apparatus (MC) having a first function block (BB) for measured-value detection, for monitoring and/or for producing an alarm in accordance with rules that can be predetermined, and having a second function block (BC) for storing application-specific data relating to the mobile apparatus (MC), and with the control center ( 15 ) and the mobile apparatus (MC) having means for communication via at least two communication channels (B 1 , B 2 ), with the first communication channel (B 1 ) being intended for communication between a communication server (KS) in the control center ( 15 ) and the second function block (BB) in the mobile apparatus (MC), and the second communication channel (B 2 ) being intended for communication between a visualization system (VS) in the control center ( 15 ) and the second function block (BB) in the mobile apparatus (MC).

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and hereby claims priority to PCTApplication No. PCT/DE00/00862 filed on Mar. 20, 2000 and GermanApplication No. 199 14 829.5 filed on Apr. 1, 1999, the contents ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a system and a method for, in particulargraphical, monitoring and/or remote control of stationary and/or mobileapparatuses, in particular of vehicles, construction-industry machinesand/or containers, by a signaling apparatus from a control center.

The invention furthermore relates to a signaling apparatus, avisualization, control and/or monitoring system, a computer-legiblemedium and a program module for such a system.

Such an apparatus is used in particular in vehicles, for examplepassenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, construction-industry machines,agricultural machines etc. Systematic operating data acquisition andmonitoring of the vehicles are often desirable in this case.

Such an apparatus is disclosed in GB 2,194,119 A1. The data acquisitionapparatus in this case contains input sensors, which record the statusor specific safety or security conditions. Furthermore, a signalprocessing apparatus is provided, which produces a status report whichincludes the identity and the location of the data acquisitionapparatus, as well as the respective operating data. The dataacquisition apparatus is connected to a selector or to a radiotelephone, which transmits the status report to a remote station.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,221 discloses a method and an apparatus for locationof and communication with vehicles. A mobile radio unit, connected to amicroprocessor, is installed in each of the vehicles. This mobile radiounit receives position-finding information from stationary transmissionunits, which it passes on to the microprocessor for visualization on ascreen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the object of ensuring simple, reliable andsecure communication between the signaling apparatus and the controlcenter.

The first function block, for measured-value detection, for monitoringand/or for producing an alarm, and the second function block, forstorage of application-specific data relating to the mobile apparatus,form two logically separate function blocks, which can be combined withone another if required. The first function block thus carries out allthe automatically running tasks relating to the monitoring and checkingof, for example, signals supplied via sensors or to be emitted viaactuators. It also includes, in particular, an alarm system,measured-value detection, measured-value preprocessing andmeasured-value storage. The second function block includes, inparticular, the appropriate diagnostics and the application-specificprograms, parameters and data sets etc. Communication with the controlcenter can be handled via at least two communication channels. The firstcommunication channel is used for communication between the alarm systemin the first function block and/or the alarm system in the controlcenter, with the communication server being coupled to the visualizationsystem in the control center. The second communication channel is usedby the visualization system, in order to read measured data etc. fromthe mobile apparatus, without being influenced or blocked by the firstchannel. Thus, overall, this results in the mobile apparatus having amodular design, which allows an open standard solution, which can beupgraded, for monitoring, diagnosis, transport, logistics, vehicle parkand fleet management tasks in a system, and allows the use of a singlemobile apparatus. The system in this case comprises one or more mobileapparatuses, with a mobile apparatus being arranged in each vehicle, andbeing able to communicate with either one or a number of controlcenters, or else with other appropriately authorized personnel. Byvirtue of its modularity, the mobile apparatus can be used forindividual tasks and for a combination of these tasks. In consequence,the mobile apparatus and the control center, that is to say the entiresystem, can be used universally and in relatively large quantities,commercially. The integration of the signal/measured-value detection andprocessing in a mobile apparatus in the form of an on-board computermeans that this provides an economic additional use for the customer,allowing integrated early fault detection in vehicles and/or loadmonitoring and hence also minimizing journeys for servicing/toworkshops.

On-line monitoring similar to a measurement device or an oscilloscopeand off-line evaluation of defect, fault and/or alarm messages caneasily be ensured since the mobile apparatus includes at least onetransmitting/receiving apparatus, in particular a radiotransmitting/receiving apparatus for temporary connection to at leastone control center and/or to a subscriber who is authorized to receivemessages.

One function, which is worthwhile in particular in conjunction withfleet management, is achieved by the mobile apparatus having a thirdfunction block which has functions for position-finding and/or fleetmanagement, and which has a device to communicate with a user at thesame location as the mobile apparatus.

Short-term and/or long-term data acquisition with a large number ofevaluation options, for example for servicing recommendations etc., canadvantageously be ensured since the mobile apparatus has a data analyzerwhich, in particular, is integrated in the first function block and isintended for receiving input signals which can be predetermined and aresupplied from the data analyzer by sampling data sequences from signalsources, since the mobile apparatus is provided with a date and timestamp for stamping the detected data signals, and since the mobileapparatus is intended for transmitting the sampled data sets to thecontrol center for graphical display within a control and monitoringsystem.

Reliable initiation of alarm messages can be achieved in that the mobileapparatus has an alarm system which, in particular, is integrated in thefirst function block and is intended for transmitting alarm messages inaccordance with rules which can be predetermined, and for protecting thetransmitted messages.

The capability to handle alarm messages such that they can be recordedand are hence comprehensible is further improved in that the alarmsystem is intended for storing alarm messages in the mobile apparatus,for transmitting the alarm message to a control center which can bepredetermined, and for monitoring an acknowledgement of the transmittedalarm messages by the control center.

One cost-saving option for varying parameters in the alarm apparatus,for example when the operating software is updated, can be provided,without any separate labor cost, in that the application-specific dataand programs which can be stored in the second function block can beloaded remotely from a control center.

The reliable emission of alarms to a control center or to an authorizedperson can be further optimized in that the control center and themobile apparatus have a device to communicate via a third communicationchannel, with the third communication channel being intended, inparticular, for communication between the communication server and inthe control center and the third block in the mobile apparatus.

The reliable, secure and unambiguous allocation of messages, even whenthere are a large number of signaling apparatuses in a large fleet, isensured in that the mobile signaling apparatus has an associatedidentifier for identification of the mobile apparatus, in that themobile signaling apparatus has a device to transmit the identifier tothe control center together with a message, and in that the controlcenter has a unit to store and visualize the identifier.

The messages are handled in a user-friendly manner within the controlcenter in that the visualization system and/or the control andmonitoring system have/has an alarm window for optical visualization ofmessages, in particular alarm, warning and defect messages and in thatthe alarm window has information relating to the identification of themessage, in particular the identifier, time and fault description.

The user-friendliness of the system is further optimized in that thevisualization system and/or the control and monitoring system in thecontrol center have/has a device to implicitly select a mobile apparatusassociated with a message, in such a way that the mobile apparatus whichis associated with the selected message is automatically selected forsetting up a connection by selecting said message from a message table,in particular by double-clicking or by operating an enter function.

A further option for user-friendly handling of the system is that thevisualization system and/or the control and monitoring system in thecontrol center have/has a telephone book window for visualization ofeach of the mobile signaling apparatuses administered by a controlcenter.

Optimum handling with user friendliness can also be achieved for thetelephone book in that the visualization system and/or the control andmonitoring system in the control center have/has a device to explicitlyselect a mobile apparatus in such a manner that a selected mobileapparatus is automatically selected for setting up a connection byselection of said mobile apparatus from the telephone book table, inparticular by double-clicking or by operation of an enter function.

Secure and reliable archiving of test results etc. can be achievedcost-effectively, without any costly use of personnel, in that thecontrol center has a device to automatically store the data transmittedfrom the mobile signaling apparatus to the control center, in order toarchive such data.

The location of the apparatuses which are coupled to the signalingapparatus, such as construction-industry machines, fleet vehicles etc.can be found in a simple manner in that the signaling apparatus has aGPS module for finding the position of a mobile apparatus which iscoupled to the signaling apparatus, with the signaling apparatus beingintended for transmission of the position-finding data to the controlcenter, and in that the signaling apparatus uses the GPS data comprisingthe date and time to provide high-precision date and time stamp for datarecording.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent and more readily appreciated from the followingdescription of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment relating to thefundamental structure of a system for monitoring and/or remote controlof vehicles,

FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration showing the basic structure of thearchitecture and overall configuration of a signaling system, and

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration relating to graphical alarmprocessing by a visualization, control and/or monitoring system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an overallsystem for mobile data acquisition. The data acquisition systemcomprises vehicles F1 . . . Fn in a vehicle fleet. The vehicles F1 . . .Fn are each equipped with a data acquisition apparatus MC, with the dataacquisition apparatus MC and the interaction with further components inthe respective vehicle F1 . . . Fn being shown on the basis of just theone vehicle F1 in each case. The data acquisition apparatus MC has inputinterfaces S1 . . . S4, via which respective input signals are suppliedfrom data sources Q1 . . . Q4, The first interface S1 is intended, forexample, for processing input signals from a communication bus, such asthe CAN bus (CAN=Controller Area Network) that is used in vehicles.Operating data for the engine temperature, water temperature, oilpressure, oil temperature, battery voltage etc. are transmitted, forexample, via such a data bus. The second interface S2 is, for example,in the form of a serial interface, for example for connection of akeyboard or keypad, display etc., while the third interface S3, forexample an “on-board I/O” interface, is intended, for example, forconnection of sensors, encoders etc. The fourth interface S4 is used foroptional connection of a GPS module (GPS=Global Positioning System). Thedata acquisition apparatus MC has an output interface SA which forms theoutput, for example, of a GSM module (GSM=Global System for MobileCommunication) with the output interface being connected to atransmitting/receiving antenna 6. The vehicle F1 can set up abidirectional data link via a radio interface 9 between the antenna 6for the data acquisition apparatus MC and an antenna 11 for a basestation 10 a . . . 10 n. The base stations 10 a . . . 10 n in a GSMmobile radio network N are connected to a network operator 13 in themobile radio network N. There is a link 14 from the operator 13 of themobile radio network N to a control center 15. A further data link 16 ispossible, alternatively or in addition, as a mobile data link 16 betweena receiver E and the operator 13, via a further base station 17. Acomputer 20 with a data processing apparatus 22, monitor 21 and keyboardor keypad 23 is used, for example, as the man-machine interface forcommunication between the control center 15 and the data acquisitionapparatus MC.

FIG. 1 shows how a signaling apparatus MC is embedded within a systemfor monitoring and diagnosis of vehicles F1 . . . Fn, and thisarrangement will be explained in more detail using the example of thesignaling apparatus MC contained in the vehicle F1. Instead of thevehicles F1 . . . Fn, illustrated in FIG. 1, it is also possible toinclude other mobile and stationary apparatuses such as vehicles,machines, for example construction-industry vehicles, cranes,containers, tracked vehicles, etc. within such a system. The signalingapparatus MC has input interfaces S1 . . . S4, via which input signalswhich originate from data sources Q1 . . . Q4 can be supplied. Suchinput signals may, for example, be signals which relate to theoperational reliability or safety of the vehicle F1 . . . Fn such as thewater temperature, oil temperature, coolant temperature of arefrigerated vehicle, etc. The signaling apparatus MC is used forrecording, in accordance with stored rules and at specific times, inaccordance with the input signals defined in the data acquisitionapparatus MC. The signals recorded in this way can then be transmittedvia the output interface, either on request from the control center 15or on request from some other receiver E, via the output interface tothe control center 15 and/or to the receiver E. This allows, forexample, effective fault diagnosis in the event of a defect in thevehicle F1 . . . Fn. Furthermore, it is possible for input signals 1 a .. . 4 a, which are defined in the data acquisition apparatus MC to bederived, for example, automatically in the MC from the signals over ashort time period, for example by trigger events or to be started orstopped and/or recorded on command from the control center thusobtaining highly up-to-date machine/vehicle states on the basis of ahighly up-to-date display, and initiating appropriate servicing and/orrepair measures etc. Signals can also be recorded over a short timeperiod, for example, in the form of a direct dialog link between thecontrol center 15 and the data acquisition apparatus MC, via an on-linelink in the form of the air interface 9. The rules in the dataacquisition apparatus MC may be designed such that alarms can beproduced automatically when specific defect events occur, for examplewhen limit values are exceeded. The data acquisition apparatus MC canfurthermore use the location data supplied via the GPS antenna 4 totransmit location data to the control center, and to applyhigh-precision date and time stamping to the signal recording in the MC.This provides not only theft monitoring but also a clear method forfleet management of the vehicles in a vehicle fleet F1 . . . Fn whichcan be recorded from the control center 15. Furthermore, if required,the radio link 9 between the control center 15 and the vehicle F1 canalso be used to provide a voice link between the driver of the vehicleF1 and the control center 15 without any separate radiotransmitting/receiving apparatus being required for this purpose. Inaddition, in the event of a fault, for example, a notebook etc. can alsobe connected, for example, in situ via the interface S2, so that therecorded signals can be evaluated in situ for fault tracing. An optimumdisplay of the information transmitted from the data acquisitionapparatus MC to the control center 15 is facilitated by installing inthe computer device 22 a software packet which is based, for example, onthe WinCC control and monitoring system from Siemens or an OPC (OLE forProcess Control) based system, or on operating systems such as Windows.This also optimizes the administration, for example of the incomingalarm messages. Furthermore, specific information for vehicles F1 . . .Fn, such as traffic radio, routing, date and/or order data etc., can betransmitted on a vehicle-specific basis or fleet-specific basis from thecontrol center. The rules in the data acquisition apparatus MC fordetection and transmission of input signal data to the control centerare stored in the data acquisition apparatus MC in such a way that therules can be loaded remotely from the control center 15 to the dataacquisition apparatus MC via the air interface 9.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of the basic structure of thearchitecture and overall configuration of a system for graphicalmonitoring and/or the remote control of stationary and/or mobileapparatuses MC from a control center 15 via respective temporarilyswitchable radio paths 9. The mobile apparatus MC, which is alsoreferred to in the following text as a mobile controller or as asignaling apparatus MC, contains three logically separated functionblocks BA, BB, BC, which can be combined with one another as required.The function block BA comprises the functions for position-finding (forexample GPS position-finding), fleet management etc. and has a firstinterface S1 for driver communication via a panel, scanner etc. Thefunction block BB is used for measured-value detection, monitoringand/or producing alarms in accordance with rules which can bepredetermined. The function block BC is used in particular for storageof application-specific data for the mobile apparatus MC. The functionBB can be coupled to data sources Q2 . . . Q4 via interfaces S2 . . .S4. The control center 15 is characterized in that it is able todistinguish between three separate logical channels A, B1, B2. Dependingon whether the control center has direct access to the radio network viaradio modems, or whether it is connected via ISDN or the Internet, thesechannels A, B1, B2 may also be physically separate, for example fordirect GSM access (SMS and GSM data). Functionally, the control centercontains three function blocks, namely a communication server KS, agraphical visualization system VS, and the alarm system AS. These blockscontrol a lower-level communication system. The channel A is used forcommunication between the communication server KS and the block BA inthe mobile apparatus MC, while the channel B1 is intended forcommunication between the alarm system AS and the block BB. The channelB2 is used for communication between the visualization system VS and theblock BB in the mobile apparatus MC. In the exemplary embodimentillustrated in FIG. 2, the channels A, B1, B2 are in the form of a radiopath via an air interface 9. The system illustrated in FIG. 2 is basedon PLC technology (PLC=programmable logic controller), which is used inthe automation field.

The system illustrated in FIG. 2 can be expanded in a modular fashionand can be used universally for monitoring, diagnosis, teleservice, GPSposition-finding etc., in particular universally for tasks relating tologistics and fleet management. The control center 15 is in this case,for example, in the form of a WinCC station, that is to say the controlcenter 15 uses the Siemens WinCC system as the control and monitoringsystem. The modular architecture of the mobile apparatus MC makes iteasy to combine with other software systems. The architecture with theseparate function blocks and the separate channels A, B1, B2 guaranteesthat the alarm signal, diagnosis and driver communication to the controlcenter can be carried out in parallel, in time.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of the graphical alarm processingby a visualization, control and/or monitoring system. FIG. 3 in thiscase shows the fundamental function blocks, comprising the mobileapparatus MC and the control center 15. The mobile apparatus MC is amobile controller with a specific, unique identifier K, in the presentcase with the ID44 control. This identifier is stored in the mobilecontroller MC, and is transmitted via the radio interface 9 to thecontrol center 15. The control center 15 contains a communication driver19, for example a radio DLL 19 (DLL=Dynamic Link Library). The radio DLLis used for administration of the subscribers, that is to say of themobile apparatuses MC administered in the control center 15 and forincluding the subscriber-specific data in user-specific image dialogs20, which are coupled to data archives 25. When an alarm message 18arrives from the mobile controller MC1 at the control center 15, theradio DLL 19 uses unit 8 to set up an alarm message to enter thereceived alarm message in an alarm window 1 as a message M2. The alarmwindow 1 comprises rows and columns, with each row having one messagesM1, M2, in each case associated with it. The columns contain dataassociated with the respective message M1, M2 these being, in the caseof the alarm window 1 illustrated in FIG. 3, the alarm identifier, thedate, the time, the vehicle license number, the control identifier, thefault description and the duration of the fault that has occurred. Theuser in the control center 15 can automatically dial 24 the controlcenter for the mobile controller MC, on the basis of the message M2visualized in the alarm window 1, by initiating a step 4 by using the PCmouse to double-click on the message row for the message M2, via anaccess step 3 in a telephone book 2. In this way, a radio link to theassociated mobile controller MC1 is set up directly once the user hasdouble-clicked on the selection of the alarm message M2, or has pushed akey for this purpose. This is also referred to as implicit controllerselection, in the following text. As an alternative, explicit controllerselection is possible by process step 5. In this case, implicitcontroller selection is possible from the telephone book 2 on the basisof the identifiers, stored there, for the mobile controllers MC1 . . .MC4 and the associated attributes such as license numbers, manufacturersand an associated radio link in the form of the associated telephonenumber. The selection and operation of the radio path in this case isonce again carried out by a specific driver, for example in the form ofthe radio DLL 19. This driver handles all the communication with thecontroller MC1 . . . MC4.

The invention is intended to allow parallel operation ofmonitoring/diagnosis/teleservice and telemaintenance with GPSposition-finding, transport, logistics, vehicle park and fleetmanagement tasks in one system, and with a single mobile controller. Inthis case, one application comprises one or more mobile controllers (onecontroller per vehicle) and one or more WinCC control centers. Thecontroller can be used for individual tasks, or for a combination ofthese tasks. The mobile controller and the WinCC control center can thusbe used universally and in relatively large quantities commercially. Theintegration of the signal/measured-value detection and processing in amobile controller (on-board computer) results in an additional financialbenefit for a customer due to the integrated early fault detection in avehicle or load monitoring, and by minimizing journeys for servicing/toworkshops.

For vehicle/load monitoring and monitoring of construction-industrymachines or physically remote machines which are operated without usingPLC technology there has not yet been any commercially available, openand upgradeable standard software solution for the control center.

In the past, at the mobile appliance, there have been:

PLC solutions, although these are not particularly suitable formonitoring and diagnosis in the mobile area. There is no proven, robustautomatic alarm system from the field to the control center, and thereare no real-time measurement capabilities either.

no modular and combinable controllers on the market which can be useduniversally. Instead of this, appliances are specialized for eachapplication, for example, PLC, GPS position-finding appliances, fleetmanagement appliances, or else single-purpose in-house developments bythe machine constructors for teleservice.

no universal monitoring or diagnosis appliances on the market which canbe used for construction-industry machines and commercial vehicles orfor machine monitoring outdoors. Expensive specific solutions do exist,for example in the turbine and power station fields.

The control center is in the form of a WinCC station. For fleetmanagement/transport and logistics tasks and for GPS position-finding(using map software), a commercially available software system which iscompliant, for example, with FAP (Fleet Application Protocol) can beoperated in parallel with WinCC. It is thus possible, in conjunctionwith the invention, to obtain such software (for example MAP&GUIDE),without any expensive in-house development. WinCC thus also becomesuseable in the freight-forwarding sector or for vehicle park monitoring.All sensor/actuator-related automatic monitoring and processing ishandled logically separately, by interaction between the controller andWinCC.

The special features of the invention are:

architecture which allows WinCC to be combined with other commerciallyavailable software systems.

universal architecture, even for future self-monitoring andremote-diagnosis tasks on vehicles, such as passenger vehicles,commercial vehicles, construction-industry machines.

architecture guaranteeing time parallelity of the alarm channel to thecontrol center and teleservice function to individual/a number of mobilecontrollers.

real-time data recording and evaluation in situ even over slow (radio)paths feasible by a data analyzer function (comparable to a digitaloscilloscope function).

alarm system based on WinCC with “single-click” selection for themonitoring/teleservice mode.

alarm system with automatic acknowledgement following successful alarmarchiving in the control center, and automatic repetition of the alarmtransmission in unprotected radio networks (SMS), for robust operationwithout an operator.

dynamically self-matching alarm system on a mobile controller, in orderto prevent alarm overload resulting from identical recurrent alarmmessages.

WinCC with GPS theft monitoring/alarm production.

The described architecture is designed for use via radio paths, forexample mobile radio networks such as GSM, GPRS, UMTS etc., viasatellite radio or via “short-range radio”. In addition, it ischaracterized in that the application solution remains neutralirrespective of the implementation of the services, protocol stacks,superimposed on the networks.

Fundamentally, the configuration consists of a control center and anumber of mobile controllers, which are temporarily connected via aradio path.

The architecture of the signaling apparatus MC (=Mobile Controller)offers the special feature that one and the same controller can be usedfor pure monitoring tasks for mobile or stationary machines,construction-industry machines, and vehicles up to applications fortransport and in the logistics field. For this purpose, the “controller”appliance in conjunction with a multitasking operating system combinesthree logically separate function blocks A, B and C, which can becombined with one another as required. The function block BA (FIG. 2)comprises the functions for position-finding (for example GPS), fleetmanagement etc., and is characterized by interaction with the driver viavarious input options.

The logically separate block BB carries out all the tasks that runautomatically relating to the monitoring and checking of all thesensors, actuators and the vehicle bus systems (for example CAN) orfieldbus. These characteristic features are its alarm system,measured-value detection, preprocessing and storing using, for example,a datalogger, a data analyzer, a classification function, andlimit-value monitoring.

The data analyzer is characterized in that, in conjunction with a highsignal sampling rate on all the signal inputs and the objects on the bussystems, it allows very rapid measurement sequences of signalsassociated in time, with precise date and time stamping. The completerecorded data block, comprising a number of data sets, can be displayedgraphically, after being transmitted to the control center, at the righttime and with high time resolution. This ensures measured-valuedetection and preprocessing of signals in the MC which it wouldotherwise be impossible to observe in real time from the control center,via the radio path.

The special feature of the alarm system is the protection of the messagetransmission to the control center. In the controller, alarm, defect andwarning messages are produced when defined signal states are reached orwhen external signals exceed limit values. These messages arebuffer-stored in a controller spool system when they occur. Thecontroller sends these alarms successively by radio to the controlcenter. The control center must acknowledge each message individuallyand automatically after reception and archiving, by a logicacknowledgement to the controller. The transmitted message is notdeleted in the controller (in the spool) until this has been done. Ifmessages that have been sent are not acknowledged by the control centerwithin a time which can be selected, the controller automaticallyrepeats the transmission of the corresponding message.

The block BC contains diagnostics as well as upload and downloadfunctions for the appliance software in the controller itself, as wellas application-specific programs, parameters and data sets.

The control center is characterized in that it distinguishes betweenthree separate logical channels. These channels may also be physicallyseparate, for example in the case of GSM direct access (SMS and GSMdata) depending on whether the control center has direct access viaradio modems to the radio network, or is connected via ISDN or theInternet.

All the communication relating to the position-finding and fleetmanagement is passed via channel A. The communication server carries outthe distribution function for applications which are based on FAP (FleetApplication Protocol).

All the communication between the alarm system and the graphicalvisualization system in the control center passes via channel B1 as the“alarm channel”, either via the communication server (link V) ordirectly to WinCC. This offers the advantage that a number ofapplications, such as fleet management and vehicle, load, machinemonitoring, teleservice etc., can be integrated in one control center.

The visualization system itself uses a separate channel B2 in order tohandle services with large volumes of data and/or with strict timingrequirements. However, in parallel with this, and even if B2 is blockedby a permanent direct radio link, all the alarm messages from the fieldcan still reach the control center via channel A without anydisturbance.

The alarm window in FIG. 3 shows the alarm, warning and defect messagesarriving from the individual controllers, or from a number ofcontrollers, in the field. The structure within the alarm window isbased on rows or columns. In order to provide a multilingual interface(which can be set individually on each workstation) and in order toreduce the amount of data to be transmitted, only the alarm-relevantdata, such as alarm/defect identification, date and time of thetriggering event, possibly together with its duration and additionalparameters, are transmitted by radio to the control center.

Furthermore, a unique identifier (for example the ID of the controlleror the serial/chassis No.) is also transmitted in order to identify amobile appliance or vehicle.

The data transmitted in this way is translated to the language-specificplain-text messages by a table structure, after being received in thecontrol center. This table (and possibly also a number of tables)contains a translation for each language used, per identifier, as plaintext. A similar situation applies to the format conversion betweennational/language-typical formats or notations such as the time/date andadditional parameters. The actual messages are formed from this, areentered in the alarm archive, and are overlaid successively in the alarmwindow.

The visible contents of the alarm window are restricted to a finitenumber of alarm/warning and defect messages. It is thus possible for theuser to use a slide (26) or up/down buttons to shift the visible part ofthe alarm window over all the stored messages.

The reason for an alarm, warning or defect message that has arrived froma mobile controller can be found by a minimum number of control actionsby selecting the appropriate controller directly by radio, in order toread further details from the controller by teleservice, or to carry outdiagnosis or remote maintenance. For this purpose, it is sufficient tomark the appropriate message in the alarm window by clicking on themouse, or by using the cursor. The radio link to the associated mobilecontroller is set up, see implicit controller selection above, directlyafter this by double-clicking or pushing a key.

A telephone book or database is used for administration of all theinformation of how each controller can be accessed in the field, forexample the communication service, addresses or subscriber number, forexample mobile radio number. Further additional information is used tomake it easier for a user to carry out a search; for example, it iseasier for him to find an official vehicle license number and to selectthis than a controller ID. An operator can then deliberately select acontroller explicitly by selecting a telephone book entry anddouble-clicking or pushing a key.

In contrast to explicit controller selection the radio link to theassociated controller is set up when using implicit controller selectionby double-clicking on a message in the alarm window. Double-clickingresults in the associated program taking the unique identifier relatingto the controller ID and determining all the data required forselection, from the above mentioned database. This results in thesetting up of the order block for selection of the controller. Aspecific driver (for example DLL Dynamic Link Library) is used forselecting and operating the radio path. This driver handles all thecommunication with the controllers in the field and provides a programinterface for any desired user programs, and for all the subsequentscreen dialog programs. A software download to the controller, forexample, is also handled in this way.

The image dialogs are also supplied via the driver with the necessarydata from the controller. In order to optimize the radio communicationand to speed up the setting up of the screen, it is possible to use anorder to selectively request from the controller only such data, and toload it into the control center, which is required for the respectivefunction or the respective image. The selection process may also meandifferent time cycles for updating each individual data field. This isindependent of the transmission type and medium, and is dealt with bythe specific driver or drivers.

The image dialog formats are dependent on the respective application,and the dialogs can use variables for read and write access to thecontroller. The data read from a controller to the control center iswritten to files via the image dialogs for archiving.

The following text contains further explanatory notes relating to theimplementation of the alarm system: a user of a mobile system is in thisway intended to be made aware of certain events, such as defects. Inorder to take account of the system's intrinsic unreliability in thecommunication path, functions are required for storing the events thatoccurred in the mobile system until they are centrally archived in theB&B station. In order to prevent the alarm archive from being overloadedby the same events or alarms, it must be possible to limit identicalentries. This also assists in minimizing the transmission costs.

In order to satisfy these requirements, the mobile controller has aremanent alarm archive. Various remanent media such as battery-bufferedRAM, flash EPROM, EEPROM . . . can be used for this purpose. The numberof entries for one and the same alarm message can be restricted by theconfiguration process. Firstly to prevent the alarm archive from beingblocked in the event of faulty signals which lead to the alarm messagebeing triggered repeatedly, and secondly to prevent it being blocked inthe event of relatively long failures of the communication path.

The mobile system sends an alarm message that has newly arrived in thecontroller as soon as a communication order can be produced. An alarmmessage is not erased in the controller until a logic acknowledgementarrives from the alarm message recipient, that is to say from thecontrol center, at the controller. This acknowledgement may arriveimmediately or following a delay, depending on the medium or service.Logical or physical links may be used (for example, serial as well asstream or packet-oriented links, for example data transmission via IP,GSM, GPRS or any other transmission protocol or service). If noacknowledgement arrives from the recipient of an alarm message within aconfigurable time, another transmission attempt is started. At thereceiver end (for example in the control center with WinCC), theacknowledgement for an alarm message is sent automatically to the mobilesystem once this message has been archived. If an alarm message reachesthe maximum configured number of identical messages in the controller,this is noted in the next transmitted alarm message. Acknowledgementswhich arrive after this now no longer cancel the entry inhibit for thisalarm message, in order to prevent there being an unnecessary largenumber of messages on the path to the control center. This entry inhibitcan be canceled again only by a special order. This response in thealarm system is switchable, and can be switched off. In the controlcenter, there are suitable provisions to make the operator aware of thisalarm message overflow. The user is provided with functions forinitiating the enable order for the entry inhibit that has previouslybeen set.

In one exemplary embodiment of the alarm system, the alarm archive is inthe form of battery-buffered RAM. The alarm messages are transmitted viaGSM-SMS to WinCC. After being received in the WinCC archive (=long-termstorage), the WinCC sends an acknowledgement via GSM-SMS back to thetransmitter. Alarm messages which have reached the entry limit arespecifically emphasized. The WinCC user is provided with a dialog forreading all the overflowing alarm messages, with an option tosubsequently enable them.

In summary, the invention thus relates to a system and a method for, inparticular graphical, monitoring and/or remote control of stationaryand/or mobile apparatuses F1 . . . Fn, in particular in vehicles,construction-industry machines and/or containers, by a signalingapparatus MC from a control center 15, with the mobile apparatus MChaving a first function block BB for measured-value detection, formonitoring and/or for producing an alarm in accordance with rules thatcan be predetermined, and having a second function block BC for storingapplication-specific data relating to the mobile apparatus MC, and withthe control center 15 and the mobile apparatus MC can communicate via atleast two communication channels B1, B2, with the first communicationchannel B1 being intended for communication between a communicationserver KS in the control center 15 and the second function block BB inthe mobile apparatus MC, and the second communication channel B2 beingintended for communication between a visualization system VS in thecontrol center 15 and the second function block BB in the mobileapparatus MC.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference topreferred embodiments thereof and examples, but it will be understoodthat variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for monitoring mobile apparatuses,comprising: a mobile signaling apparatus having a first function blockfor measured- value detection, to perform at least one of monitoring andproducing an alarm in accordance with predetermined rules, and having asecond function block for storing application-specific data relating tothe mobile signaling apparatus; and a control center having an alarmsystem, a communication server, and a visualization system, the controlcenter being connected to the mobile signaling apparatus via at leasttwo communication channels, with the first communication channelproviding communication between at least one of the alarm system and thecommunication server in the control center and the second function blockin the mobile signaling apparatus, and the second communication channelproviding communication between the visualization system in the controlcenter and the second function block in the mobile signaling apparatus,the visualization system in the control center having a selection unitto implicitly select the mobile signaling apparatus associated with amessage, in such a way that the mobile signaling apparatus associatedwith the message is automatically selected for setting up a connectionby choosing the message from a message table.
 2. The system as claimedin claim 1, wherein the mobile signaling apparatus has at least oneradio transmitting/receiving apparatus for temporary connection to atleast one control center and to a subscriber who is authorized toreceive messages.
 3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein themobile signaling apparatus has a third function block which hasfunctions for position-finding and vehicle park management and/or fleetmanagement, and which has means for communication with a user at thesame location as the mobile signaling apparatus.
 4. The system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile signaling apparatus has a dataanalyzer which is integrated in the first function block and receivespredetermined input signals supplied from the data analyzer by samplingdata sequences from signal sources, the mobile signaling apparatus isprovided with a date and time stamp for stamping the detected datasignals, and the mobile signaling apparatus is intended for transmittingthe sampled data sets to the control center for graphical display withina control and monitoring system.
 5. The system as claimed in claim 1,wherein the mobile signaling apparatus has an alarm system which isintegrated in the first function block for transmitting alarm messagesin accordance with predetermined rules, and for protecting thetransmitted messages.
 6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein thealarm system stores alarm messages in the mobile signaling apparatus,transmits the alarm message to a predetermined control center, andmonitors an acknowledgement of the transmitted alarm messages by thecontrol center.
 7. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein theapplication-specific data and programs which can be stored in the secondfunction block can be loaded remotely from a control center.
 8. Thesystem as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control center and the mobilesignaling apparatus communicate via a third communication channel, withthe third communication channel being used for communication between thecommunication server in the control center and the third block in themobile signaling apparatus.
 9. The system as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe mobile signaling apparatus has an associated identifier foridentification of the mobile signaling apparatus, the mobile signalingapparatus has a transmitter to transmit the identifier to the controlcenter together with a message, and the control center has a storage andvisualization unit to store and view the identifier.
 10. The system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of the visualization system andthe control and monitoring system has an alarm window for opticalvisualization of messages, and the alarm window has information relatingto the identification of the message.
 11. The system as claimed in claim1, wherein at least one of the visualization system and the control andmonitoring system in the control center has a telephone book window forvisualization of each of the mobile signaling apparatuses administeredby a control center.
 12. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein atleast one of the visualization system the control and monitoring systemin the control center has a selection unit to explicitly select a mobilesignaling apparatus in such a manner that a mobile signaling apparatusis automatically selected for setting up a connection by selection ofsaid mobile signaling apparatus from the telephone book table.
 13. Thesystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control center has a storageunit to store the data transmitted from the mobile signaling apparatusto the control center, in order to archive such data.
 14. The system asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the mobile signaling apparatus has a GPSmodule for finding the position of a mobile apparatus which is coupledto the mobile signaling apparatus, with the mobile signaling apparatustransmitting the position-finding data to the control center.
 15. Thesystem as claimed in claim 1, wherein the messages are chosen from themessage table by a double clicking or by operating an enter function.16. The system as claimed in claim 10, wherein the alarm window visuallydisplays at least one of an alarm message, a warning message and adefect message, and the information relating to the identification ofthe message includes a date and fault description.
 17. A method formonitoring mobile apparatuses coupled to a mobile signaling apparatus,comprising: using a first function block in the mobile signalingapparatus to detect measured values, to monitor the measured values andto emit alarms in accordance with predetermined rules; using a secondfunction block to store application-specific data relating to the mobilesignaling apparatus; communicating between the control center and themobile signaling apparatus via at least two communication channels;communicating over the first communication channel between an alarmsystem and a communication system in the control center and the firstfunction block in the mobile signaling apparatus; and communicating overthe second communication channel between a visualization system in thecontrol center and the first function block in the mobile signalingapparatus.
 18. A computer readable medium storing a program to control acomputer to perform a method for monitoring mobile apparatuses,comprising: using a first function block in the mobile signalingapparatus to detect measured values, to monitor the measured values andto emit alarms in accordance with predetermined rules; using a secondfunction block to store application-specific data relating to the mobilesignaling apparatus; communicating between the control center and themobile signaling apparatus via at least two communication channels;communicating over the first communication channel between an alarmsystem and a communication system in the control center and the firstfunction block in the mobile signaling apparatus; and communicating overthe second communication channel between a visualization system in thecontrol center and the first function block in the mobile signalingapparatus.